1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus including a process chamber for collectively processing a prescribed number of substrate, a substrate processing method, a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium, and a substrate transfer method.
2. Description of Related Art
In a substrate processing apparatus including a process chamber for collectively processing a prescribed number of substrate, shortage occurs in some cases in the number of a product substrate required for collective processing. If substrate processing is performed while not placing a substrate for filling the shortage on a substrate placing piece in the process chamber, a generated product is adhered to the substrate placing piece for example, thus having an adverse influence on the processing thereafter on this substrate placing piece. Therefore, there is a method of performing substrate processing by filling the shortage of the substrate with a dummy substrate. For example, patent document 1 discloses a technique of achieving a uniform substrate processing by filling a free space with a dummy lot, which is the space generated on the substrate placing piece at a last of lots.
Meanwhile, when a prescribed number of substrate is transferred into the process chamber, error is sometimes generated at a prescribed place of the substrate processing apparatus. In such a case, there is a necessity for disconnecting the place where the error is generated, and performing a fallback operation for continuing the substrate processing. For example, patent document 2 discloses a technique of switching the processing from a process chamber where the error is generated, to a normal process chamber, to continue the substrate processing, thus improving a production efficiency.
In the substrate processing apparatus including the process chamber for collectively processing a prescribed number of substrate, the substrate during transfer stays at a prescribed position in the substrate processing apparatus when error is generated during transfer of the substrate. Therefore, the shortage of the substrate occurs, although they are required for the collective processing in the process chamber. Such a shortage of the substrate is filled with the dummy substrate. However, if the shortage of the substrate cannot be filled with the dummy substrate for some reason, there is no choice but stop the processing.
Patent document 1:
    Japanese Patent Laid Open Publication No. 2001-250780Patent document 2:    Japanese Patent Laid Open Publication No. 2006-339662